MARKETS CRUMBLE AGAIN, TECH STOCKS GET CRUSHED: Here's What You Need To Know

Stocks finished lower on Friday as tech stocks led the market
lower after an ominous warning from one CEO in the semiconductor
industry weighed on the sector. Tesla shares also put the Nasdaq
under pressure, while the Dow and S&P 500 were mixed for most
of the day before tumbling late in the day to close near session
lows. Stocks had a tough and volatile week, with all major
indexes falling more than 2%, and with Friday's close, the Dow is
now negative for the year.

First, the scoreboard:

Dow: 16,544.1, -115.2, (-0.7%)

S&P 500: 1,906.1, -22, (-1.15%)

Nasdaq: 4,276.2, -102.1, (-2.3%)

And now, the top stories on Friday:

1. Microchip CEO Steve Sanghi
sounded the alarm on the semiconductor space, saying that
another "industry correction" is coming to semiconductors. "We
believe that another industry correction has begun and that this
correction will be seen more broadly across the industry in the
near future," Sanghi said. Shares of Microchip lost more than 11%
on Friday, and a number of its peers including Micron,
STMicroelectronics, and Freescale Semiconductors all lost more
than 5% on Friday.

2. In a note to clients following Sanghi's comments,
analysts at Citi explained just what an "industry" or
"inventory" correction means for semiconductor companies. "In
semiconductor speak, an inventory correction occurs whenever
demand drops off for a moderate period of time and can occur
during economic expansion or contraction," wrote Citi analysts
David Phipps and Ashish Nair. "Inventory corrections typically
last 2-3 quarters with a step-down in demand and reduced
visibility. The economic impacts are lower sales and margins.
Semiconductor company marginal revenue dollar has about a 50%
translation into EBITDA." So, something to keep in mind as we
head into earnings season.

3. Electric carmaker Tesla was another big loser on Friday,
falling nearly 8% after
announcing a new all-wheel drive model on Thursday night.
Tesla shares fell a bit victim to the old adage of "sell the
news," as Thursday's announcement was teased in a much-hyped
tweet from CEO Elon Musk about two weeks ago.

4. Shares of GT Advanced fell more than 30% to $0.81 after
reports indicated that the company said it has sought court
approval to wind down its sapphire operations. GT Advanced, which
filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, had signed a sapphire
supply agreement with Apple last year.

5. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon
spoke publicly for the first time since announcing that he
was diagnosed with throat cancer back in July. Dimon spoke on a
panel at the Institute of International Finance in Washington,
D.C. today, appearing with CEO peers Brian Moynihan, James
Gorman, and Anshu Jain, from Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and
Deutsche Bank, respectively.
Business Insider's Shane Ferro has the full recap here.

6. The Russian ruble
fell again against the dollar, bringing the currency's losses
to more than 17% since the end of June.

7. Alpha Pro Tech, which makes protective face masks and other
protective gear, rose
more than 40% on Friday as it became just the latest
peripheral way that investors have trading around news regarding
the Ebola breakout. Lakeland Industries, which makes hazmat
suits, has rallied hard over the last month, which drug companies
like Tekmira and Chimerix remain active.

8. S&P cut
its outlook for France to negative from stable, citing
concerns about the country's economy and the government's
budgetary situation. France was last downgraded by S&P in
November 2013.